


If He Says He's a Boy, Then He's a Boy!

by blackfin



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: M/M, Transphobia, big shark boyfriend being protective of smol bean, trans!Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 12:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11126835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackfin/pseuds/blackfin
Summary: The river looked like a good, safe place to bathe but when two children show up, Link finds himself in the uncomfortable situation of having his gender brought into question





	If He Says He's a Boy, Then He's a Boy!

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to a prompt on tumblr that just wanted some more trans!link  
> This has been cross posted to my tumblr, s-aizo  
> Currently accepting commissions, check my tumblr for more details  
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated! Thanks!

He should have known bathing out in such an exposed place was a bad idea. 

Now neck deep in the river he had been attempting to clean himself in, Link watched the two children, one boy and one girl, on the shore apprehensively, a growing sense of dread squeezing his chest. They were staring back at him with wide, curious eyes, making him feel like an animal in a petting zoo. Neither of them were that young, most likely around 11 or so but it seemed as though they had been raised by barbarians as they continued to stare and dumbly stare at him, despite his obvious discomfort. He recognized both of them from the village he had just passed through. One, the girl, had even offered him an apple, which he had quietly but pleasantly turned down. 

By one of the feet of the boy lay his clothes and towel, neatly folded and mocking him from a distance. He had foolishly wandered too far from the shore, making it impossible to quickly dart back to safety and cover himself. Now, he was stuck in the middle of the river, buck naked and incredibly uncomfortable, with two brats staring at him with that damnable question obviously right on the tips of their tongues. 

“You’re a girl?!” The boy finally exclaimed the question he knew was coming. 

Flinching, Link pulled in a deep breath through his nose, held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. Despite wanting to just sink below the surface of the water and quickly escape from the situation, he knew there was nowhere for him to go. Along with his clothing, his pack and weapons were on that shore as well. He was certain that if he swam to the other side of the river, they would just follow him, their pointed and unnecessary questions dogging him. Even though he was uncomfortable to the point of frustration, his skin crawling with unease and embarrassment, there was no way for him to escape. 

Instead of answering the question, he called out in the calmest voice he could manage, “Could you please leave so I can get dressed?”

He wasn’t going to have this kind of conversation whilst completely nude and submerged in water. Once he was able to get dressed, with his sword safely on his back, he would be able to think rationally, calmly again. Then, he would address it. He would help them understand and move on. 

“Why do you dress like a boy?” The girl called back, her voice unbearably prissy and bossy, “Girls aren’t supposed to dress like that, you know!”

“I would like to get dressed now so please leave.” He responded, his voice harder now. It was a struggle to keep his frustration out of his voice. Was it not obvious that he wanted to get out of the water? Even if his gender wasn’t being called into question, what kind of inconsiderate blockheads stood around while someone was calmly asking you to leave so they could get dressed?! 

“Yeah, you’re a girl, aren’t you?” The boy yelled, his voice conveying more confusion than aggression, as though he couldn’t wrap his mind around the whole thing or find some sort of logical reason, “Why are you acting like a boy?” 

“I am a boy!” Link yelled back, his frustration causing him to snap. Both of the children flinched away, as though they weren’t expecting anger in response. While he did feel a little guilty for raising his voice, a majority of him felt justified. Mostly because they hadn’t had the common sense to turn around and walk away after he had asked them twice. 

“You aren’t a boy!” The young girl replied derisively, a know-it-all, prideful expression on her scrunched up face, “Momma says that boys have wieners but girls have vaginas, and boobs! You have those so you have to be a girl.”

Biting down hard on his tongue, Link tried to ignore the gross, slimy feeling spreading over him. He could feel his body shaking, though whether from embarrassment or frustration, he couldn’t really tell. A familiar feeling of tightness appeared in his throat, squeezing his vocal cords in a vice grip, making it near impossible to think. Inside of his chest, his heart began to flutter noisily with anxiety. His face was burning hot, even though the water was a tepid temperature. 

He didn’t know what to do. Regardless of what he said, they weren’t leaving. Was his only option just sucking it up, swimming to shore and gathering up his clothes as they stabbed him with questions? He didn’t know if he could do that. In fact, it was almost laughable - he faced down monsters without flinching but the thought of going onto that shore, having to get close to those two and watch as their eyes stared unabashedly, unashamedly at what they considered to be “female parts” was enough to make his legs go numb. 

Panic was beginning to rear itself ugly head inside of his mind. Swallowing hard against the tightness in his throat, he tried to calm himself by thinking that they would eventually just get bored. If he ignored them, let them spew out their hateful words until they had said everything they could, they would leave. Then, he would scrub himself until his skin was raw, throw himself into his mission and erase them from his mind. 

He was about to turn away, to put his back to them in a clear sign that he was not going to talk or listen to them anymore when suddenly, hands grabbed hold of both his ankles and he was yanked underwater. His entire body spasmed in alarm, eyes going wide as he twisted around to try to figure out just what had done that. Immediately, he saw a blur of red then there was a welcomed, beautiful face in front of him. 

Swimming around him, with a gleeful, playful grin on his handsome face was Prince Sidon. Link’s heart immediately lifted, relief sweeping over him. Thrusting himself forward, he wrapped his arms around Sidon’s broad shoulders, nuzzling his nose against the Zora Prince’s cheek. Strong, muscular arms encased him, squeezing tightly as they both broke the surface, laughing and coughing loudly. 

“You devil!” Link sputtered with no real anger in his voice and a big smile on his face. 

“Forgive me, it was just too tempting.” Sidon replied, his golden eyes dancing with delight. Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss against Link’s lips, “Oh, it’s so good to see you, my love.”

Returning the kiss with one of his own, Link breathed, “I’m happy to see you too! What are you doing out here, though?”

“Heading to a small settlement just a little ways north from here. A fisherman we’re hoping to set up a trading contract with lives there so I was heading down to finalize some details.”

“Fun!” He replied playfully, wiping water away from his face. 

“Do you want to come with me?”

“Yes!” Link exclaimed excitedly. There was nothing more he wanted to do at that moment then to accompany his beloved Zora Prince anywhere, especially if that meant getting him far, far, far away from here. 

Sidon smiled warmly, his eyes filled with gentle love, “Alright, then lets-”

The Zora Prince abruptly stopped, his head lifting as he gazed over to the distant shore. Obviously have just caught sight of the two children, he looked confusedly at them for a moment before turning back to Link, “Friends of yours?”

“No.” Link replied stiffly, “They just wouldn’t leave when I asked them too.”

Clearly sensing there was more to the story, Sidon leaned down slightly to press a comforting kiss against the tip of Link’s nose before he straightened back up and called, “Hey there! Would you mind kindly leaving so he can get dressed?”

“She!” The little girl corrected him loudly. 

Sidon’s eyebrows shot up, “I beg pardon?”

“She! That’s a girl, mister!”

The Zora Prince was dead silent for a moment before saying slowly, “I was thinking that that might be the situation, though I was hoping it wasn’t.” He glanced down at Link, his gaze soft and comforting, “What do you want to do? I can make them leave but if you would prefer to do so yourself…”

Link shook his head, burrowing deeper into Sidon’s embrace, “I’ve already tried to tell them but they won’t listen to me so what’s the point? Please just make them go away so I can finally put some clothes on.”

“Of course, my love.” Sidon soothed, placing another kiss against his lips. 

Allowing Link to slip back into the water, the Zora Prince quickly swam over to the shore. Standing up on the sandy banks, his height massive when compared to the children, which Link could tell they immediately, nervously, took notice of, he smiled down at him - showing a little more teeth than was probably necessary - and said in a calm voice, “Please leave now.”

Neither of the children backed down. Instead, they stared defiantly back. The boy crossed his arms over his chest and huffly said, “I just want to know why she dresses like a boy.”

“He is a boy.” Sidon replied firmly, the smile still on his face. 

“No, she isn’t. Girls-”

“Enough, you two are being incredibly rude.” Sidon admonished them sternly, “Did you parents even bother to teach you any manners or were you raised in a swamp? He has told you that he is a boy, I’ve told you that he is a boy so that means he is a boy. You two trying to tell him differently and acting as though you know better than he does is discourteous, abusive and frankly, immature. You two should be old enough to know that you should treat others with kindness and respect. How shameful of you to come here and act so ill-mannered towards him! He is the Champion of Hyrule, acting day in and day out, putting himself in immense danger just to save this world and you two have the audacity to disrespect him to such an extent!”

The two children were now looking down at their feet, their expressions one of guilt and shame. Fiddling slightly with the hem of his shirt, the boy spoke up quietly, “We just wanted to know why she was acting like a boy.”

“He.” Sidon corrected him firmly, “And he is not acting like a boy. He is a boy. That shouldn’t be that hard to grasp. If you had acted like decent individuals and allowed him to get dressed when he asked, he most likely would have explained it to you but you two deemed your curiosity more important than his well-being. I think that he deserves an apology for your selfish actions, don’t you?”

Nodding furiously, the two turned to him, bowed and yelled in unison, “We’re sorry!”

Without waiting for a response back to them, they immediately turned and hightailed it away. Blinking slowly, Link watched after them for a moment before he quickly made his way to the shore. Striding over to where his clothes and towel lay, his body shivering from the cold, he said, “Thank you for standing up for me, Sidon.”

“Of course, my love. I’m so sorry you head to deal with that.”

He shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to express just how much that encounter had affected him. All he wanted to think about was going to that settlement with Sidon and enjoying his company. Quickly drying himself, he threw on his clothes while his skin was still somewhat wet, pushed his hair out of his face, closed his eyes, pulled in a deep breath and took a moment to compose himself. A moment later, he felt Sidon’s arms wrap around him once more, tugging him close to his smooth stomach. Long, slender fingers wove into the damp strands of his hair. Resting the side of his head against Sidon, Link let himself relax into his arms, comforted by his scent. 

“Could have been worse, I suppose.” He murmured.

“Yes, but that doesn’t make it any better. I can’t believe the insensitivity of some people.” Sidon spat bitterly. 

Link shrugged again. Despite it being a bit sad, he was used to such behavior. It wasn’t anything new to him. He wouldn’t mention that to Sidon, however. The Zora Prince was already bothered enough, he didn’t want to aggravate that further. Especially since he couldn’t be too sure that Sidon wouldn’t track down those kids parents and give them a stern talking to. Not that he would mind watching them squirm a little as an 11-foot Zora reprimand them for raising their children to be such rude brats, he just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. 

“Can we go now?”

“Do you want to take a minute? You can sit in my lap, if you’d like.”

Link tilted his head back, considering it for a moment before shaking his head, “No, not here. Maybe when we get to the settlement. I just want to get away from this place.”

“Understandable.” Sidon replied knowingly. “Alright, let's be off then!” 

Hoisting Link up until he was at Sidon’s shoulder, the Zora Prince turned purposefully back to the water. Tucking his feet up so he didn’t get his boots wet, Link slipped one arm around his neck, relaxed his weight onto him and thought distractedly to himself that he would need to look for more secluded bathing areas from now on. While he wanted to become brave enough that he could easily handle such a situation without shame or embarrassment, he wasn’t quite there yet. Hopefully, one day he would be but until then, safer bathing places was the only answer. He couldn't always count on Sidon showing up out of nowhere to save him. 

Though, if he were being honest, just knowing Sidon was on his side and had his back filled him with immense comfort. Resting his cheek against the side of the Zora Prince's head, he breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with his scent. Maybe he wasn't brave enough yet but he knew, with Sidon by his side, cheering him on, encouraging him with that big, sweet smile on his face, he would get there one day.


End file.
